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  • #1

    Hello! Newbie here

    Hi All!

    Thanks for having me. I've just started my UE diary after poring over this page for the past few weeks. You have all inspired me to see if there is any UE debts in my huge and embarrassing history...

    Background: Lots of debt accrued with the naivety of youth. Spent 6 years on a DMP with stepchange and still owe just under 40k ... in August 2019 most drop off my credit file (half gone already) but I want to start tackling what's left in a more positive but firm way.
    Now entering a situation where I can potentially offer F&Fs to *some* of the debts and save hard to pay the others off.

    Wish me luck and I really, REALLY appreciate all your support and help!
    Tags: None
    • 3 likes
  • #2
    Originally posted by PowerofCats View Post
    Spent 6 years on a DMP with stepchange and still owe just under 40k ... I want to start tackling what's left in a more positive but firm way.

    Wish me luck and I really, REALLY appreciate all your support and help!


    Hello

    Just wishing you good luck.

    I look forward to helping you.

    Di

    Comment

    • #3
      Thanks Di! I've seen your superstar advice and hard work on here and admire everything you do. I just want to add that I'm not a debt-dodger at all, but I've been paying this for so very long (Years before the DMP started) and if I continue to pay my Stepchange amounts I've got another 11years...it's pretty much been a weight around my neck and if I was able to have gone bankrupt, I would have done (job doesn't really permit it).




      • 1 like

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      • #4
        Originally posted by PowerofCats View Post
        I just want to add that I'm not a debt-dodger at all, but I've been paying this for so very long

        The "debt avoider" insult often comes up in court, but Judges change their tune when they can see it's a legal argument not a moral argument.

        The Consumer Credit Act was designed to protect consumers when creditors lend them money. There are rules (statutory obligations) and if they don't abide/comply with the rules then the debt becomes unenforceable. Pure and simple.

        You have been paying for a very long time. The debt purchasers have possibly recovered more money from you than the money they paid the original creditor to buy the debt in the first place. Debt purchasers seek to profit from consumers' unfortunate circumstances.

        No one wakes up and says "today I'll walk the dog, go to the dry cleaners and get into debt". It's never a conscious choice. It happens.

        That's the way I see things anyway

        Di

        • 2 likes

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        • #5
          No need o feel embarrassed we have all been there. Just ask anything no matter how small .good luck.
          xxx
          if you do it today and you like it you can always do it again tomorrow

          I'm an official AAD Moderator and also a volunteer, here to help make the forum run smoothly. Any views or opinions are mine and not the official line of AAD. Similarly, any advice I have offered you is done so on an informal basis, without prejudice or liability. If in doubt seek advice from a qualified insured professional - Find a Solicitor or go to the National Probono Centre.

          If you spot an abusive or libellous post then please report it by Clicking Here. If you need to contact me, for instance if I've issued you a warning, moved, edited or deleted your post, please send me a message by clicking my username.

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          • #6
            Hi
            Hopefully you will be able to start listing some details of your debts so people can offer some opinions.
            Somewhere there is a template to fit in that asks for the details for each debt but the main points are

            Type of debt - credit card/loan etc
            Who it was with originally
            How much is owed
            When the last full payment was made
            When the last payment of any type was made
            Who owns the debt now
            If the debt has been defaulted when

            From what you say some are falling off your credit file now and you have been paying since the default so the date of last token payment will be (in my opinion) when you look at for the start of the statute barred clock

            If it helps, I was in quite a bit of debt, was in a DMP for a good few years then went through the unenforceable route

            All but one are now statute barred (I had a letter today where they say 'the period for recovering the debt by court action has expired' ) and the one who tried court action ended up with an expensive bloody nose

            As for the debt dodger bit, yes people will try to tar you with that brush but as Di said- most people do not wake up one day and say oh lets get into lots of debt I can't and won't pay back

            Good luck and people will support you

            Comment

            • #7
              Thanks so much Warwick, really good to hear other people's stories.
              Last debt drops off Aug 2019 but I last payment end of September 2018, so a long way to go until SB but will ride out as long as I can.

              I've started saving the £332 I was paying Stepchange in a separate account so that if things come back enforceable I can pay/arrange to pay/ try the F&F route. If anything comes back UE I'm going to ignore it!

              Unless of course I get advice NOT to pay the enforceable stuff, in which case I'll go with the seasoned veteran's opinions!!

              • 1 like

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              • #8
                Hi
                The decision about paying debts is entirely up to you but you also need to understand that enforceability is not all about the agreement. I have had several so called enforceable debts go SB but most (not all) were pre 2007. Being pre 2007 really wasn't their problem- after all they had signed copies of the agreements. In one (that went to court) no Default notice had been sent - they were unable to even show any entry saying one had been sent . The same one had a gap in the paper trail of 1 week in-between when the original creditor said it had been sold and when the new owners said they had bought it. Only the DN issue was considered as that was enough to win.

                Another one for a hefty 15K - well they produced a 'signed' agreement but I suspect it was a concoction but enough at first sight to look convincing but they failed with the CCA request to provide the defaulted terms and conditions - I can explain more if needed- that just went SB with the last offer I received was a 75% discount.

                Two others , well they were lower amounts and if they had gone to court I might have been banged to rights BUT Cabot only bought them 12 months before they went SB and were unable to comply with my CCA request ( I also think they had problems such as non compliant default notices

                Sadly I can not link you to my story as there is no internet version available but I can give you my experiences.

                Comment

                • #9
                  That's really interesting. I'm a bit apprehensive with it all and worried because I'm in law enforcement and we have to disclose everything to do with debts. I have annual 'reviews' done and i'm not sure how i'm going to tell them that I'm going down this route! I'm worried it might get me in trouble as I'll not be paying! I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Originally posted by PowerofCats View Post
                    That's really interesting. I'm a bit apprehensive with it all and worried because I'm in law enforcement and we have to disclose everything to do with debts. I have annual 'reviews' done and i'm not sure how i'm going to tell them that I'm going down this route! I'm worried it might get me in trouble as I'll not be paying! I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it
                    So you have annual reviews?

                    I assume they know you have defaults on your credit file?

                    Apart from that why do they need to know anything else - sorry but it doesn't show up anywhere. The only possible problem is if you get a CCJ - do they have a policy on CCJ's

                    I hadn't realised you had replied because my email alerts have stopped working

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Yes they know about the defaults and have been very good so far. If they mention the review again I'll try to be as upfront as I can and basically say I'm no longer using Stepchange and doing it myself.
                      I don't know about the CCJ policy. Will have to ask. I know previous employees who have gone to court for failure to pay council tax and had attachment of earnings and that wasn't a disciplinary offence

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